Bill Purvis' Bell Page

This page is dedicated to Bellringers. I'm not a bellringer
but I admire their dedication to their art. I admire the
complexity from a mathematical point of view, and the skill
and concentration that they need to accomplish their work.

I'm currently learning about the rules of ringing and composition
and will add bits here as I go along.

I have discovered that ingenious bell-ringers have
devised machines to perform change ringing. At present
I'm aware of two such machines: The Carter Ringing Machine
and the Woodhouse Ringing Machine. A third machine, by D B Price,
was also built but has been dismantled and details are few.

I have recently been appointed a Steward of the Carter Ringing
Machine and have started to build up some
web pages
with more information about it.

Back in 2004 I spent a week dismantling, measuring and rebuilding
the Carter machine, the purpose being to produce some engineering
drawings of the components. I have a mass of rough sketches, all
dimensioned, plus lots more photos. I also have a complete (I think)
parts list.
I am hoping to be able to make this information
available on the web for those interested, providing I can obtain
permission from the owners - watch this space

As Steward of the Carter Ringing Machine I also have care of a
collection of electronic ringing simulators built by
Peter Cummins. At present most
of the collection are not in working order, but one is and is
brought out when I demonstrate the Carter machine. I have recently
been offered a number of additional Cummins machines, some of which
are working. For more details and photographs, see
here.

Here is an article which
describes the use of Cummins machines written by Peter Cummins
for The Ringing World and transcribed by me.

I've also written a short page on the process of change-ringing, in case
you're not familiar with it. If you don't understand my description
of how the machine operates, you may find this
helpful. If you have read it and still don't understand, please contact me
and I'll try to clarify it further.